COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Akisato, Rito
Date:
1787
Short Title:
Text: Miyako meisho zue [Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. (with) Shûi-Miyako meisho zue. [Supplement to the Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. Vol 1
Publisher:
Kawachiya Tasuke
Publisher Location:
Osaka
Type:
Text Page
Obj Height cm:
26
Obj Width cm:
36
Full Title:
(Text page to) Miyako meisho zue [Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. (with) Shûi-Miyako meisho zue. [Supplement to the Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. Vol 1
List No:
16149.010
Series No:
10
Publication Author:
Akisato, Rito
Pub Date:
1787
Pub Title:
Miyako meisho zue [Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. (with) Shûi-Miyako meisho zue. [Supplement to the Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital].
Pub Reference:
Kerlen, Catalogue of Pre-Meiji Japanese Books and Maps in Public Collections in the Netherlands, # 1065 & 1066. V. Béranger, Recueils Illustrés de Lieux Célèbres (Meisho Zue); objets de collections, Ebisu, Maison Franco-Japonaise, Tòkyò, 2002, n° 29, pp. 81-113. Chibbett, Descriptive Catalogue of the Pre-1868 Japanese Books, 139. Toda: Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Illustrated Books in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago, 334 (one volume only).
Pub Note:
"An exceptional eighteenth-century guide to the famous sites of Kyoto and the surrounding region. Akisato’s guide documents the views of the Kyoto region through detailed and specific visual and textual information, via a total of 93 full-page and 327 double-page illustrations. Because of the devastating Kyoto fire of 1788, copies of this rare work that survived are of the utmost historical significance. The second set is from the first edition. The first set is a “reprint” probably done in 1787. It does not have a colophon page, perhaps because it would seem, from the matching wrappers, to have been issued together with the second set. The 11 volumes contain 420 woodblock prints pulled on hand-made mulberry paper by Takehara Shunchôsai Nobushige, who was active from 1772 to 1801. The illustrations record Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples, religious ceremonies and funeral processions, New Year’s celebrations, processions of the Emperor throughout Kyoto, portrayals of everyday life in the city such as merchant shops like the fan maker or the kimono seller, weavers, grain milliners, loggers, etc. Also shown are establishments for various arts and crafts, refreshment houses, and numerous depictions of aristocratic and Imperial estates. Specific views of note include: the monastery of Honganji dating from the tenth century, the temple of Sanjùsaugendò with the 33 statues of Buddha, a luxurious Imperial cortege, the sub-temples of Daitokuji, and the Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji pavilions, to list but a few. The success enjoyed by Akisato’s Miyako meisho zue was substantial, encouraging him to issue a 5 volume supplement a year later, with additional views and descriptive text entitled Shûi-Miyako meisho zue, Tenmei 7 [1787]. The text in all volumes is a mixture of Chinese and Japanese; the legends to the illustrations appear in both languages as well. Often there are poetic or literary citations that accompany a particular view. The Imperial Capital of Kyoto was the national symbol of pride and power in Japan for over a thousand years. Most of the Imperial City perished in the great fire of 1788; only the temples and gardens situated in the mountains surrounding Kyoto survived destruction. Hence, Akisato’s descriptions and woodcut illustrations remain of paramount value in recording a city that mainly disappeared a mere two years after the book’s publication. Akisato’s Meisho zue reinvented an old genre of illustrated guidebooks in Japan; and within 35 years most of the major cities and prefectures of Japan that attracted travelers had published similar guides to their celebrated sites, although with far fewer illustrations. Akisato Rito (1776-1830) was responsible for the redesign and addition of six new rocks in the Zen stone garden masterpiece, Ryoan-ji, after the disastrous fire. In addition to the current publication, his other major works include a further meisho-zue or “guidebook”: Miyako Rinsen meisho zue (Illustrated Manual of Celebrated Gardens in the Capital) 1799, and the Ishigumi zonou yaegaki den (Transmission of Rock Compositions, Live Gardens, and Eight Types of Fences), 1827. Despite some occasional internal staining and insect damage, a fine set of this rare and important work." (Ursus Books, 2024)
Pub List No:
16149.000
Pub Type:
Guide Book
Pub Height cm:
26
Pub Width cm:
19
Image No:
16149010.jp2
Authors:
Akisato, Rito
![Text: Miyako meisho zue [Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. (with) Shûi-Miyako meisho zue. [Supplement to the Collection of Pictures of Famous Places of the Capital]. Vol 1](https://media.davidrumsey.com/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size3/RUMSEY~8~1/213/16149010.jpg)